Muskingum College - CAL (CAL)
 Muskingum College - CAL (CAL)
Muskingum College - CAL (CAL)
 

Test Preparation Strategies for Sociology

Several test preparation strategies are useful for most sociology courses: study groups, study guides, and practice questions.

Study Groups

Work with other students in the class to prepare for tests. Here are some ideas of what you can do as a group:

  • Divide the readings among members of the study group and have each member provide summaries or outlines of their material.
  • Compare lecture notes to insure accuracy and completeness.
  • Share memory strategies or ideas for organizing information. Have each member of the study group contribute completed organizational aids like flash cards, matrices, or hierarchies for different chapters or major topics.
  • Take turns teaching the material to other members of the study group.
  • Work together to make up study guides to summarize the information to be learned.
  • Have each member make up practice questions, which the group can answer together or use to quiz each other.

Study Guides

Study guides provide an organized summary of the information to be learned for an exam. They are used to guide or structure one's test preparation sessions. The information on a study guide may arranged in a number of formats: outline form, by type of information (terms, people, concepts, etc.), or by subject or major topic.

Practice Questions

Working individually or with a study group, make up and answer practice questions in order to prepare for an exam. First find out what types of questions (essay, fill-in, identification, true-false, etc.) will be asked on the test. Then use the notes, book, and study guides to write these types of questions. If the lecture notes were recorded using the Cornell method, use the recall column to write questions. In the book, try turning headings, illustrations, and bold words into questions, or look for review questions at the end of each chapter. After answering the sample questions, focus on ways of remembering the information. For essays, organize the answer in some rememberable format like an outline, a matrix, or a mind map.